World Of Warcraft: Panda-ing To The Masses?

Pandaria has gotten me all misty-eyed for the old days of World Of Warcraft. I created my first account in 2006, and though I find myself logging in less and less as of late, there was a time when I was a hardcore WoW player. Starting off as an Orc Hunter before graduating to my Main - a Night Elf feral Druid - I still remember my first trek across the barrens, and the first time I set foot inside the bustling city of Orgrimmar. I remember saving up and grinding enough gold to buy my first Striped Frostsaber mount, and proudly equipping the spoils of my first successful instance. Back in the days of the original World Of Warcraft, it was, simply, a very exciting game.

Fast-forward almost eight years and soon to be four expansions, and for me at least, WoW has lost its charm. Or perhaps, after six years of endless fetch and kill quests, I’m just incredibly jaded.

Skidoosh.

The newest expansion, Mists Of Pandaria, promises to introduce a slew of new content to the ageing world of Azeroth following the dramatic upheaval Cataclysm caused when it launched in October 2010. Despite the critical success of that expansion, the MMORPG giant has been haemorrhaging subscribers recently, dropping from a peak of 12 million just after Cataclysm’s launch to the current total of approximately 9.1 million. And whilst 9.1 million active subscribers each paying £8.99 per month still nets Blizzard a tidy sum, it paints a pretty damning picture of a big fish currently floundering in a rapidly shrinking pond. What they really need, at this crucial juncture, is something truly special to entice players into starting up their subscriptions once again.

Could the answer to Blizzard’s woes lie in a race of drunken anthropomorphic Kung Fu Pandas?

I’m not sure what it is about the Pandaren race that bothers me so much. In a world currently populated by Goblins, Werewolves, the bear-like Furbolgs and the Tauren – a race of Cow-People – tossing pandas into the mix isn’t too much a stretch of the imagination. And yet, something about them just strikes me as tonally wrong. 

WTB Portal to Stormwind... anyone? Helloo..?

 
The Pandaren aren’t even a new gimmicky invention, cashing in on the success of Kung fu Panda as many have suggested. Players familiar with Warcraft 3 will remember Pandaren ‘brewmaster’ hero Chen Stormstout aiding beastmaster Rexxar in The Frozen Throne way back in 2003. But even then, they were something of an in-joke. Blizzard art Director Sam ‘Samwise’ Didier has admitted as much, stating that his affiliation with pandas stemmed from a nickname bestowed on him by his brother. Over time, the ‘Pandaren’ people were born from various doodles and references by Didier. But what started as a gag intended only for his family eventually became part of Warcraft canon. 

Although embraced and even requested by some WoW fans, it could be perceived that their inclusion as the newest playable race in Azeroth is indicative of a lack of imagination on Blizzard’s part. For most, it just feels like what it essentially is - an in-joke we’re all on the outside of.

The Mists Of Pandaria expansion brings with it new challenge modes, the new continent of Pandaria, the playable Pandaren race and the Monk class, a martial arts class that can specialise in tanking, damage dealing or healing via the revamped talent trees. 

One big - albeit odd - family.

I stopped playing WoW regularly a while ago, mainly because I simply didn’t have the time to dedicate to a guild or frequent raiding, the focus of most end-game players. If you can’t keep up, your gear and equipment will date fast, leaving you unfit to hold your own in most high-level dungeons and instances. When I last tried to get back into WoW after a lengthy hiatus, I just wasn’t good enough. 

However, many long-term players have recently bemoaned the fact that the game has gotten easier with each subsequent expansion, to the point that many veterans believe it’s now too dumbed down. Blizzard are caught between a rock and a hard place; between trying to keep existing and long standing subscribers happy and consistently challenged, whilst netting themselves new players without completely baffling them with centuries of lore and almost a decade’s worth of gameplay intricacies.

In my eyes, WoW is looking and feeling increasingly old and haggard, and not even fuzzy fighting bears can cover that up. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been with it for such a long time that I notice the tired formula more; I’ve poured countless hours into it and I don’t dare count how much I’ve spent in expansions and subscription fees. 

I still remember the thrill and Thrall of those early days; the brilliant community, the frequent flashes of Blizzard humour, and the epic moments of entering an instance and emerging a hero. Talking about it now almost makes me want to go and play it all again. But in truth, the idea of playing WoW now is probably a lot more fun than actually playing it. I remember all the great moments, but after that initial wave of nostalgia comes the crashing realisation of how mundane a lot of the questing and repeated raiding has become.

Eight years might be long enough.  However Blizzard fare with this new expansion, it’s probably safe to say that they’ve lost this subscriber for good. And that’s the black and white truth.